Highlights
Nearly half a bicycle
The atomic theory in Kilburn — This place (on Kilburn High Road) has been morphing steadily from dry cleaner’s to bike shop over the last few years. I remember being surprised one morning to see a few kids’ bikes lined up for sale outside but I’d say the shop is now approaching 50% bike shop. […]
Where is my patriotism?
Come, love of country, fill my heart… — I do love Britain. I guess I love England more. London most of all. I hope that in my life I’ve honoured the place I live and not disgraced it or undermined it (I support England and GB in sporting events – I fly a little flag […]
Some bullet-points about regulation
In case you’d got the wrong idea about how the ’regulatory state‘ is supposed to work — UPDATED 23 May 2025. I could update this thing daily. Regulation is always a news story in the UK (Search any news service for ‘regulation‘ right now and you’ll get a long list of current news stories about […]
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Am I intruding?
My extensive research (I scrolled all the way down) reveals that Carl Steadman’s proto-blog Tilde Carl was five years old last week. Five years. No archive. One very long page…
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A new library of Alexandria
In the future, there will be statues of Brewster Kahle. I never cease to be humbled by his ambition. Technologists have promised the digital library for decades. In 1945, Vannevar…
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I’m just going to say it…
It’s fashionable – compulsory in some circles – to knock Big Brother. In fact, the show is one of the small handful of genuinely indigenous forms thrown up by television.…
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Anti brand campaigners need context
UPDATE. Just read this post, in October 2022, and I’m kind of shocked. I so profoundly disagree with this post that it’s quite difficult to acknowledge that I even wrote…
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Liberal email
Is this how you take the pulse of liberal America? From technoculture I learn that the NY Times publishes a daily list of the ‘most emailed’ articles from its online…
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NHS Obscure
Is this Britain’s worst web site? No. That would be an exaggeration. NHS Direct Online could be Britain’s least useful web site, though. Trying to find out what the normal…
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Previewing books
The thing with book reviews is you’re supposed to wait until you’ve finished reading the book before you review it but anyway – the latest big book to land here…
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A blogging injury
I’ve got some kind of RSI – pressure on a nerve in my neck makes my left arm numb (I’ve pretty much ruled out a stroke). My neck hurts and…
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Freedom of the road
This German charity is teaching Afghan women to drive. What a breathtakingly practical way of helping a downtrodden group get going after decades of oppression. According to The Economist they…
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Are you a Baconian or a Cartesian?
Freeman Dyson quotes Bacon in his NYRB review of a book about the importance of amateur astronomers: All depends on keeping the eye steadily fixed on the facts of nature,…
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Notes on Work Foundation conference
Diligent attendees at last week’s Work Foundation Social Software conference (part of a larger research project) have published their notes. Very useful. Thank you!